Traditional Cheesecake (courtesy of Lil McElhone)

By michellecresta

Ingredients

• 3 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 pint sour cream (= 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces)
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

Step 1

Soften cream cheese in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Beat ‘til smooth and creamy. Add rest of eggs (3), sour cream, heavy cream. Beat ‘til blended. Pour into 9’ spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in 1 inch boiling water bath until chestnut brown.
Bath: Put cheesecake pan in another pan (i.e. 10 X 13 corningware or broiler pan). Pour boiling water in pan about 1” high.

Raspberry Topping:
1 pkg frozen raspberries
½ cup currant jelly
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. coldwater
Mash berries in saucepan. Add jelly. Bring to boil over low heat. Add cornstarch mixed with water. Cook, stirring ‘til more clear or translucent. Cool.

Tip: After removing cheesecake from pan in oven, sit it on a plate with tin foil or paper towel since there will be some drippings. After it cools, cover with foil, store in refrigerator and leave cheesecake in spring pan until ready to serve.


Misc. notes:
Crust:
33 graham cracker squares, crumbled
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional, for brushing the pan
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch cake pan. Adhere parchment to the bottom and the sides.
In a small bowl, combine crumbled graham crackers, the remaining melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Place remaining crumbs on a sheet pan and bake both the crust and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes. Cool. Reserve additional crumb mixture for sides.
Tip: separate eggs…mix yolk into mixture and beat or whip up egg whites before adding..